Preacher man says it's the end of time
And the Mississippi River, she's a runnun' dry.
A Country Boy Can Survive - Hank Williams, Jr.
This is a piece of property I frequent with a dry-weather creek running through it.
We've had little rain up here this year and there are places on the Mississippi that look like you could just wade across. The creek , however, has continued to flow.
I know that someone has hogs on a branch of this creek upstream somewhere. I've also seen gnawed willow and poplar twigs in the creek meaning there are beavers up that way somewhere.
This water has to be sand filtered before use. Boiling would also be a good practice depending on how much sand we are filtering through.
We have talked about installing a hydraulic ram pump to lift water from the creek to a cistern but aggregate would fill the pipe any time there was a heavy rain.
We have also talked about using a few 12 volt low flow solar powered pumps to push water up the hill in stages. That would probably be the best option as it would service the horses on the way.
We all know how important water is, but we in the West tend not to think about it because the city or county provides it or if you live in the country you have a well.
What happens if the power goes off for a few days? A month? Six months?
At some point, municipalities will run out of fuel for the back up generators that will run the pumps they have even if they run on natural gas. Those natural gas pumping stations have to have fuel too and at some point in the system, there is bound to be a glitch.
The first things that will have to be abandoned are baths, showers and flushing toilets.
Get used to the idea right now of doing your business in a 5 gallon bucket and covering it with leaves or saw dust and taking it out daily to a compost heap. (Look into DIY composting and composting toilets. )
Now find some water. There are various ways to do this depending on where you live.
There are several good resources to tell you how to build filters and water procurement systems. My go-to on things like this is FM 21-76, the US Army's Survival Guide. The British SAS has another very good one, but I don't recall its title.
If you live in the country, life should be easier and you should have more options. Among other things, perhaps the pump head can be removed from your strand pipe and a pitcher pump can be installed. Perhaps...
This article was written only to get people thinking about what may happen if the lights go out for an extended period of time.
Other things to consider:
- Food
- Heat
- Lighting
- Meds
- Pets
I have heard and read several times in the past couple of days the phrase "Beans and Bullets."
Get them while you still can.
And go to the range...
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Image by me.
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Just realised I missed dropping a comment here to let you know your post has been featured in The Lotus Garden newsletter, which gets published tomorrow. You've also been selected to be this week's beneficiary recipient.
@minismallholding
Thank you very much. I am truly appreciative.
Indeed, for those who have access to water out of the tap, don't really much think of the "what if's". I didn't either. While the water pressure is relatively low, I realize I have it better than most.
Now that I've read your post I'm thinking of the possibility of placing a water tank that catches the water from the rain.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts with us.
That's a great idea but oddly enough, there are places in the States where that is illegal. Thanks for stopping by!
I don't know what the law says about water tanks for catching rain water here in Suriname, but for some people here it's their only source for water. That and/or the creek or the river.